* * *
I’m starting to hate the Klingon sense of timing, thought Doug Mason as he returned to the bridge, the turbolift doors flanked by two armed guards. Although on course to rendezvous with the Constellation’s fleet, they were still within the war zone. His ship and crew had fought well in the previous engagements, but he could tell that the repeated attacks were starting to take their toll on at least his crew. He settled into his captain’s chair, ordering, “Report.”
“I have the target on sensors, Captain,” Duclare reported as she peered into her scope. “ID’d as a D7-class battle cruiser. Warp signature matches the ship we ran into a few days ago.”
“Damn thing’s like a bad penny,” remarked Hall. The navigator’s description of their opponent was apt, but now wasn’t the time for sarcasm.
“Tactical status?” Mason asked. Although designed as a counter to the Constitution-class, the D7 had a few comparative shortcomings. Its disruptors were more powerful than phasers, but required more energy and more time to recharge in comparison to phasers. Its shields were inferior and its targeting sensors not as accurate at long range. It had better acceleration and maneuverability, but its top impulse and warp speeds were slower. Regardless, any competent captain on either side knew how to compensate for disadvantages and exploit advantages in their particular ship.
“Shields are up, phasers and photon torpedoes standing by. Enemy target will be in weapons range in two minutes.”
It had been unusual that the Yorktown hadn’t encountered a top-of-the-line D7 before now; reports indicated eight had participated in the invasion of Organia, however none of them had been reported participating in any of the follow-up raids along the border. Based on the incident with the Kongo, they appeared to have been held in reserve for use against more powerful targets. Like us. Decker’s warning ran through Mason’s mind and he couldn’t help but think if this “bad penny” was turning up now just to prevent the fleet from building up strength.
“Helm, come right to course three two mark zero,” Mason ordered, which would turn the Yorktown directly at the enemy target. “Lock phasers and ready torpedo guidance.”
“Enemy target now…” Tavas started to say before she was interrupted by a bright blue flash on the view screen followed by the entire bridge suddenly lurching to starboard. Mason instinctively grabbed the arms of his chair to prevent him from being tossed to the deck. Okefor gripped the red railing between the outer and upper level of the bridge and the inner and lower level.
“Return fire, full phasers!”
“Phasers firing!” said the navigator. Two thin beams of blue phaser fire shot out towards the attacking vessel.
“Minor damage to enemy’s forward deflector shields,” Duclare said. “He’s still closing.”
“Continue phaser fire,” Mason ordered. In previous battles with the Klingons, he knew that they preferred to start off at stand-off distances, continuing to fire until they closed in to use their disruptors at their optimal firing range. Conversely, it was optimal for a Federation captain to use their photon torpedoes when a direct hit was all but guaranteed (which also meant firing at close range), since one couldn’t afford to waste the limited supply of the powerful weapons during a battle.
The ship’s phaser banks fired again as did the Klingons, who this time unleashed several more glowing blue barrages that likewise caused the violent tremors. It wasn’t as bad as before, but the deck continued to buck beneath the captain.
“Forward shields down to sixty-one percent!” the navigator shouted over the roar of screeching metal. “Minor damage on deck five!”
“Their forward screens are still holding!” added the science officer.
“Route additional power to the forward shields!” the captain exclaimed. “Don’t lay off the phasers, Mr. Hall.”
“Aye sir,” he replied. More blue beams struck the Klingon ship, but it continued on as if those phaser blasts were mere annoyances.
“Their shields are starting to weaken, sir,” Duclare reported, but then the Klingons fired again, this time two bolts of green disruptor fire emanating from the forward tips of the cruiser’s warp nacelles. The enemy fire slammed into the Yorktown hard. The bridge pitched backwards and the lighting began to dim as power fluctuated throughout the ship.
“Forward shields down to forty-two percent!” Hall shouted. “We have torpedo guidance lock!”
“Fire!” said Mason. If you want to play rough, then let’s play rough. Two red streaks, photon torpedoes, shot out towards the D7, however the Klingons suddenly made a sharp bank to starboard and the torpedoes harmlessly passed by them. “Stay with them, Helm.”
“I’ll try sir,” Tavas said worriedly. As mentioned, the main advantage the Klingon battle cruiser had over the Yorktown was its maneuverability. Since the Empire’s warships had no need for science labs, recreational facilities, and other amenities common on Federation vessels, their mass was considerably lighter and could turn like a Starfleet scout craft. At close range, a Klingon captain could maneuver outside of a ship’s main firing arcs and come about to fire its forward weapons at will. However, Mason was counting on this. “He’s coming around the port side heading astern.”
“Ease off your turn. Mr. Hall, stand by aft weapons.” Klingons had an almost predatory approach to battle; if they smelled blood in the proverbial water, they attacked with full force and with no regard for themselves. The cruiser continued to turn towards the Yorktown as it lined itself up to take another shot.
“We have guidance lock,” said the navigator.
“Fire!” This time, the torpedoes found their mark before the cruiser could maneuver out of the way. After the photons impacted, the Klingons suddenly turned back towards the Yorktown fired again towards the forward side with everything it had. Mason’s hands were digging into his armrests to the point where his fingernails were scratching his chair. The whole deck lurched at a sharp angle; bodies tossed everywhere. Tavas and Hall practically dangling from their consoles. Okefor and anyone else not seated were rolling on the deck. The inertial dampeners finally kicked in and the ship righted itself.
“Forward shields are out,” Hall said. “Cutting into auxiliary power now.”
“Enemy target’s coming around again,” warned Tavas. “He’s just too maneuverable, sir.”
“Hard starboard!” Mason barked. Although the Yorktown’s forward weapons were its strongest, without forward shields trying to maneuver into a head-to-head firing position was suicide. “Port phasers, fire!”
“Firing phasers!” Hall said. The blue beams shot out again, striking the cruiser dead-on. Instead of returning fire, it made a sharp turn to starboard and began to accelerate away.
“His forward shields are almost gone,” Duclare added.
“Stay after him,” the captain ordered. Now the playing field was level. “Give me all you can, Lieutenant.”
“Aye sir,” the Andorian said as the engines hummed even louder. Between the high warp maneuvers and now pushing her for all she’s worth, the Yorktown’s main engines were having quite a lot of strain put on them. Mason hoped that Cortez and his people could keep the situation under control. As the cruiser began to turn for another attack run, Tavas added, “Still having trouble staying with him, sir.”
“Phasers ready, Captain,” Hall said. The cruiser continued to turn, bringing its bow and the exposed section of their deflector shields into range of the Yorktown’s weapons. They had one shot at this; hit the Klingons first and they at least might not fire.
“Fire!” The phasers impacted against the D7’s hull and suddenly it began turning and accelerating away.
“Direct hit to their power distribution system; his weapons are out,” reported the science officer. “He’s gone to warp nine.”
“Damn it,” Mason muttered. They’d have to run the Yorktown’s engines beyond the red line in order to catch up and without weapons the Klingons wouldn’t turn back.
“Enemy target now at extreme sensor range. I’m losing him.”
“Get us back on course to the rendezvous. Nothing we can do now.”
“Captain,” Schneider said, “just before the Klingon ship broke off, I detected an encrypted transmission being sent out on enemy channels.”
“Can you decode it?” the captain asked.
“I haven’t seen this protocol before; might take some time.”
“It doesn’t take a warp scientist to figure this one out, Wolf,” said Hall. “They’re letting their friends know where we are and asking for backup.”
He’s right. Mason tapped the intercom control and said, “Engineering, how’s the warp drive holding up?”
“About as well as can be expected, sir,” Cortez replied. “I wouldn’t mind it if we avoided pushing her for all she’s worth for a while.”
“No promises. Helm, reduce speed to warp six.” After Tavas acknowledged the order and the Yorktown slowed, he then switched the intercom over to the ship-wide channel. “This is the captain: secure from battle stations and submit full casualty and damage reports to the executive officer. Mason out.”
“So what do we do now, sir?” asked the navigator.
“We continue on course,” the captain answered. “Hopefully the Klingons took the hint, but we’re staying on our toes. Commander Duclare, continue monitoring long range sensors. I don’t want the enemy getting the drop on us.”
“Aye sir,” she said.
“In the meantime, steady as she goes.” Mason eased himself back into his chair, fighting the urge to sigh in relief. It wasn’t over; even if they made it to the rendezvous unmolested, they still had the fleet at Organia to contend with. This was the first major test of the Yorktown during the war and they passed it. However, this was not going to be the last time the captain and his crew would face this challenge…
